


Prince

by tendous_satoris



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: (I am not using this tag correctly fyi), Crushes, Denial, Drama, Fluff, I'M GETTING BETTER GHJKJHGFD, I'M NOT USING THE 'I WROTE THIS INSTEAD OF SLEEPING' TAG, M/M, bad title don't mind me y'all know I can't title, get ur lactose pills ready! cuz this is CHEESY, y'all be proud of me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 12:43:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21136904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tendous_satoris/pseuds/tendous_satoris
Summary: “So, guess fuckin’ what?” Tamaki said with a grin once the 8 of them were all together, sat at the head of the table with a stack of papers in front of him, the words unreadable from a distance. Tsumugi was stood next to him wearing a proud smile.“You… got a good grade on our maths test?” Iori asked hopefully.“... Nah, Iorin, I’m too dumb for that. I got a 47,” He muttered after a moment, “I did get a lead role in a drama, though!” He proceeded to hold up his script with a triumphant grin, allowing Iori to read the words Summer Prince on the front, the entire room erupting into whoops and claps.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tamaki gets a role in an upcoming drama. He asks Iori to rehearse with him. All hell breaks loose, at least in Iori's heart.





	Prince

**Author's Note:**

> rubs my filthy rarepair hands all over this fandom
> 
> Hello IDOLiSH7 fandom, this is my first i7 fic so pls go easy on me with characterization :'))  
Hope u enjoy!! <3

“_ Oh _ , Yamato…!” Nagi sobbed, episode 6 of _ Ore Monogatari _ playing on the TV in front of them. They had finally gotten him to agree to watch a _ different _ anime than _ MagiKona _ , but Iori had to admit, he _ really _ should not have expected anything other than a romance show. “She just wanted to hold his hand! What a sweet girl…” 

“It’s so weird sharing a name with one of the main characters of a show I’m watching,” _ Their _ Yamato murmured side-eyeing Nagi’s dramatic hysterics. “Also, it’s not even a sad episode. Why are you crying?” 

“Um, excuse me?” Sogo poked his head into the room, wearing an excited smile. “I apologize for interrupting your anime-watching, but Tamaki-kun would like to make an announcement now that Mitsuki-san is home from his recording and the whole group is here!” 

_ That _caught Iori’s interest, trailing closely behind Yamato and Nagi as they made their way towards the kitchen. The two of them had been with each other all day during school, what could it have been? Was he only just told about it, or had Tamaki simply been hiding it from him? 

“So, guess fuckin’ _ what _?” Tamaki said with a grin once the 8 of them were all together, sat at the head of the table with a stack of papers in front of him, the words unreadable from a distance. Tsumugi was stood next to him wearing a proud smile. 

“You… got a good grade on our maths test?” Iori asked hopefully. 

“... Nah, Iorin, I’m too dumb for that. I got a 47,” He muttered after a moment, “I _ did _ get a lead role in a drama, though!” He proceeded to hold up his script with a triumphant grin, allowing Iori to read the words _ Summer Prince _ on the front, the entire room erupting into whoops and claps. 

“Congrats, Tama!” Yamato cheered, getting up to pat him on the back roughly. “Looks like I’m not the only pro-actor in the group now. Should I feel competitive?” 

“That would imply he’s any good at it,” Mitsuki teased, taking a spot opposite to Yamato to poke Tamaki’s sides, resulting in appropriate yelping. 

“H-hey, I’m good! _ Super _ good!” He barked, curling into himself to protect his sides (Iori’s own ribs ached in sympathy from all the rib-poking he himself got as a kid). “The director said I _ totally _ aced the audition!” 

“Audition?” Sogo said, blinking. “When did you go to an audition? You didn’t _ skip school _ to do this, did you?”

“Tamaki-san’s audition was a secret from the group! Only me and Ogami-san and Dad knew!” Tsumugi rushed to explain, saving their poor main dancer from sudden death via Sogo. “No school-skipping happened, don’t worry!” 

“Good, good…” 

“What’s the story about?” Riku asked, making a grab at the script only for Tamaki to stand up and hold it above his head. “Can you give us any hints?”

“The title absolutely _ screams _romance, Riku!” Nagi said, also in the process of trying to steal the script, “I am 100% certain!” 

“It’s somethin’ like that,” Tamaki muttered, finally shoving them away, though he kept the script hugged to his chest protectively. “I don’t wanna tell you guys all that much about it since I want you to be surprised by my acting and stuff…” 

“Can you give us a _ hint, _at least?”

He hesitated for a moment. “It’s set in high school, and it’s called that ‘cause my character’s… a princely type an’ shit. Seriously, I don’t wanna spoil anything… I might end up asking Yama-san for acting tips though since he’s got experience…” 

“Wow, Onii-san feels special.”

“You said your character was a princely type, right?” Riku interrupted (Iori noted that his eyes were _ still _ on the script…). 

Tamaki nodded, handing the script to Tsumugi for protection. “He’s, like, all romantic and shit.” His face morphed into a smirk. “I get to charm the pants off a cute girl.”

“_ Ooh _, you know your co-star already?” Mitsuki snickered, attempting to resume his side-poking, only for Sogo to lightly smack him in the arm, making him grumble. 

“Yeah, she’s adorable!” 

Iori didn’t know why, but he felt his heart pang a bit at that. 

“Congratulations, Yotsuba-san,” Iori hummed, pushing himself out of his chair and stepping away from the table. “I think you’ll do wonderfully in the role. Now, I have some homework to do, so I’ll take my leave.”

“Thanks, Iorin!”

“Do _ you _ have any homework, Tamaki-kun?”

“N-no, Sou-chan, I finished it at school!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ioriiiiiin.”

Iori kept his eyes on his textbook. 

“Ioriiiiiiiiiiin.”

Iori looked harder at his textbook. 

“_ Ioriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin— _”

“_ What, _ Yotsuba-san?” Iori snapped, turning around, wincing at Tamaki’s flinch. “Sorry. What is it, Yotsuba-san? Do you need help with a question?” 

“Nah, I’ve given up, I’ll do it at home,” He waved a hand in the air as if to wave away the question. “I wanna know if you wanna help me rehearse at lunch, though.” 

“Rehearse?” He couldn’t help but tilt his head in confusion. “Wouldn’t it be rather odd to rehearse a dance or song at school? Are you _ really _ that nervous about our upcoming comeback?” 

“Oh, it’s not about that! It’s about the upcoming drama I’m starin’ in!” 

Iori blinked. “Didn’t you say you were going to ask Nikaido-san about that, though?” _ What can I offer? _

The scene only got more confusing when Tamaki’s face took on a faint red colour, breaking eye contact to stare at his desk. “Sayin’ all that romantic stuff that I wanna practice to _ Yama-san _ would be really weird…Thought you’d be easier to say it to…” 

_ Ah, that makes sense _. “In that case, I would be happy to help.” He said, smiling. “I would prefer if we went somewhere a bit secluded, though, since we wouldn’t want anyone hearing us and thinking that we’re an item, or saying the lines genuinely…”

“I know just the place!” 

Iori’s heart skipped a beat when Tamaki’s face morphed into a bright grin, and he couldn’t exactly place why. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“‘Oh, Chiyo-chan,’” Tamaki chuckled, the fondness in his voice sounding completely genuine, much to Iori’s surprise, “You’re so cute, you know that?” He was taking to his princely, romantic role impressively fast for what he claimed was a cold-read. 

“‘H-how could you say that?’” Iori did his best to sputter realistically. “‘I’m really not, I-I’m just _ me _-’”

“‘Bullshit!’”

“... Yotsuba-san, the line is ‘Nonsense!’...”

“It is?!” With a blink, all the fondness was gone from Tamaki’s eyes and tone, replaced with baffled confusion as he stared down at his script. “Oh, it is. Shit. Well, I think it’s more in-character for him to say ‘Bullshit.’”

“He’s the heir to the most powerful company in the city and is attempting to charm Chiyo-chan into going on a candlelit dinner with him. I do not think that he would say ‘bullshit.’”

“Iorin’s no fun!” 

“I’m just trying to make sure that this type of thing wouldn’t happen when you’re practising with your _ actual _co-star,” Iori couldn’t help but chuckle at Tamaki’s pout, laying the script beside him on the bench. “I have to admit, though, your acting is exceptional. I’m finding it hard to believe that this is your first time reading through the drama.” 

“I mean, I skimmed through it a bit last night, but not this scene,” He mumbled, sounding a bit embarrassed, before aiming a smile at Iori. “Thanks, though. Means a lot comin’ from you.”

He blinked. “From _ me _?”

Tamaki nodded. “Your opinion, like, matters to me ‘nd shit. Plus, you’re the princely type like my character, so you would know if I was doin’ it right!”

Iori couldn’t help but be a bit taken aback by Tamaki’s words. “M-me? The _ princely _ type?”

“Yeah, duh. You’re all— charming and polite and handsome.”

_ Ah, my heart skipped a beat again _ , Iori noted as Tamaki pronounced the word ‘handsome.’ _ I wonder why that is. _

“I-I appreciate that Yotsuba-san,” He coughed, suddenly unable to look him in the eye, feeling his face heat up. “To borrow your words, it… means a lot coming from you…”

“Aw, thanks, Iorin!” He laughed, only to be cut off by the bell, letting his sentence trail off into a groan. “_ Ugh _, class now. Can we skip?”

“_ You _can, but I’m not going to.” Iori sighed, pushing himself off the bench. “Good luck with the drama, I hope I was of any help.”

He may as well have just skipped, though, considering his utter inability to focus for the rest of the day, the word ‘handsome’ spoken in Tamaki’s boyish voice unable to leave his mind. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It ended up becoming somewhat of a pattern, meeting in the secluded little grove just outside school grounds to rehearse. It had gotten to the point that not only did Tamaki know his lines off by heart, but _ Iori _ did as well. It was almost embarrassing. 

Iori didn’t know if it was good or bad that Tamaki’s acting was only getting better by the day. 

Objectively? Yes, it was good considering that meant he was going to do well in the drama, which would most likely lead to being cast in more, which would lead to more money for the company and by proxy IDOLiSH7. 

Subjectively? No, it was _ terrible _, because Iori was confident that his heart was going to explode eventually from all the lovestruck gazes and affectionate words he was receiving. 

(Did his brain know that the words were not only meant for someone else but also _ written by _ someone else? Yes. But did his _ heart _? No, absolutely not.)

(He didn’t even know why. It’s not like he has a _ crush _ on Tamaki or anything. No way.) 

“‘You’re adorable, Chiyo-chan,’” Tamaki hummed, “‘Have I ever told you that?’”

“‘You tell me that on all of our date nights,’” Iori did his best to push back his own fluster and put on a giggle. “‘Why is that, anyway?’”

“‘How could I not?’” He asked, sounding baffled by even the _ thought _ of _ not _ pointing out how cute Chiyo-chan was. “‘You are easily one of the most precious beings on the planet. I consider it a disservice to the universe not to!’” 

“‘That’s… so sweet, Yusuke-kun…’” 

“’… You don’t believe me, do you,’” Once again, Tamaki’s acting was nothing short of impressive, the disappointed undertone in his voice almost palpable. 

When Iori made the mistake of stealing a peek up at Tamaki as he spoke, the stutter in his words became embarrassingly real. “‘O-of course, I do.’”

“‘But do you _ really _ ?’” He asked, locking eyes with Iori. “‘Do you _ really _ understand that I would steal the moon from the sky, or the stars from the heavens, all to make you happy?’” 

Despite himself, Iori melted at the lovestruck look in his eyes. 

“‘Oh, Yotsuba-san—‘” 

“_ Yotsuba-san _?” 

_ … Shit. I said the wrong name. _

“I— I mean—“

“Is that what we’re doin’ now?” Tamaki asked face brightening to a grin. 

“Wait, what, no—“ 

“‘Iorin-chan, I would do anything for you, really,” Tamaki was how staring _ deep _ into Iori’s eyes, making Iori unable to look away. 

“‘But— but, why?” It was a struggle to even get the line out. 

“’Because— I love you, Iorin-chan.’”

Nope. He couldn’t do this. 

Iori shot up off the bench, almost unintentionally fast, hiking his bag onto his shoulder and pointedly looking away from his unitmate. “I-I should go.”

“Wait, what? Iorin—“

“I’m sorry, Yotsuba-san, but I would like to stop now. See you in class.”

He could hear Tamaki’s small, “Bye, Iorin…” as he speed-walked away, and couldn’t help but feel his heart grow just a little bit heavier. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iori had a hard time sleeping that night. 

He couldn’t get Tamaki out of his head. How excited he got whenever Iori agreed once again to rehearse with him, the sweetness in his voice as he read from the script, how in-love he looked as he spoke. Even if it was all faked, a performance, an _ act _. 

“_ I love you, Iorin-chan, _ ” played over and over in his head. He couldn’t stop himself from imagining what it would be like to hear it _ for real, _ for Tamaki to be _ really _staring deep into his eyes like he was the only one in the world, for—

Iori turned onto his side. He _ really _needed to get some sleep. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Iori avoided Tamaki for a few days afterwards. It wasn’t easy, and he felt bad, especially seeing his kicked-puppy looks aimed at him as they passed each other in the apartment every day, but he couldn’t help it. Facing his crush— yes, he finally admitted his crush on Tamaki— was _ far _ too embarrassing. 

That is, until they were in class, working on a maths worksheet. 

“Ioriiiiiin.”

Iori kept his eyes on his worksheet. 

“Ioriiiiiiiiiiin.”

Iori looked harder at his worksheet. 

“_ Ioriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin— _”

“What, Yotsuba-san?!” Iori snapped, turning around to meet the exact puppy eyes he had mentioned. “Sorry… What is it, Yotsuba-san?” He couldn’t help but notice the fact that they were mirroring the exact interaction that had started Iori’s crush-crisis. 

“Have you been avoidin’ me?” 

The question hit him like a punch to the gut. “Of course not, wh-what are you talking about?” _ God, he’s a terrible liar. _

Tamaki only doubles down on his pitiful face, breaking Iori’s heart into a million pieces. “I dunno, it just feels like you’ve been… distant recently…” He had a fleeting urge to kiss the pout off his face but pushed it back for… well, obvious reasons. 

“I’m sorry, Yotsuba-san,” He murmured, “I’ve just had some… complications, recently. I-I didn’t mean to make you upset or worried.” 

“What are they?” 

“It’s hard to explain—“

“Can’t be _ that _ hard.” 

“Yotsuba-san, please—” 

“Do you have a crush on me or somethin’?” 

“I— What?”

The look on Tamaki’s face shifted to one that was as if Iori had completely lost all the brains in his head. “_ Do you like me, _Iorin?”

“Not so loud,” He hissed, “A-and, that’s not an entirely appropriate question considering we’re in school and—“

“‘Cause I like you.”

“— _ Huh _?”

Now it was Iori’s turn to stare at Tamaki, this time in confusion. “You… do?”

He nodded as if it was the simplest thing ever. “Yeah, duh. I mean, not for _ that _ long, I kinda just realized while we were rehearsing and stuff, but you’re like _ super _ handsome and adorable and you looked _ so _ cute all flustered and embarrassed, and, _y’know_, you should go out with me, ‘cause if we dated, I could make you all cute like that _ again _ , but this time it’d be _ for real. _”

He could only stare, partially due to Tamaki’s strange talent for rambling for minutes on end without breathing, but mostly the words that came out of his mouth. “I, um… sure. Yes. I-I would love to. But— only in private… it’s technically against the rules…”

“Yeah, duh,” Tamaki said, tone casual, but seemed unable to contain the giddy laughter that followed. “Oh, y-you have _ no _idea how happy you just made me, Iorin…!”

“Right back at you,” Iori giggled, smiling down at his shaking form. “Now, you should focus on your worksheet. We can talk more about this later.”

“Ugh, fine, babe…”

_ Babe. _

And Iori felt his heart skip a beat, but this time, he didn’t have to wonder why. 

** _Epilogue…_ **

“I can’t believe he was a real prince the whole time!” Nagi sobbed as the ending credits of the drama rolled across the screen. “What a beautiful ending…!”

“Meh, I thought it was kinda cheesy, especially the dialogue,” Yamato muttered. “Stop crying on me, this’ll be the third shirt you’ve stained.”

“Tears don’t stain, Yamato-san, you just don’t wash your clothes.” Sogo chuckled, before turning around to face Tamaki, who sat next to Iori on the couch. “You did a wonderful job, by the way, Tamaki-kun, I had no idea you were such a good actor!”

“Thanks, Sou-chan!” Tamaki said with a grin. “Iorin helped me a lot~.”

“I did, yes,” Iori said amongst the confused looks. “We practised at school. During lunch, not during class time.”

“I’m just glad you two are _ getting along _again,” Mitsuki teased, snickering. “So, who asked who out?”

“Oh— we’re not—“

“I asked Iorin out,” Tamaki replied, completely ignoring Iori’s attempts at denial. “He was so cute about it, too, all blushy and embarrassed—“

“That’s because you asked me out in _ maths class! _” He finally managed to bark out, sinking further into the couch as if that would hide him from the whole unit’s amused looks. “And I told you not to tell anyone since we’d get in trouble.”

“No one cares as long as it’s not in the public eye,” Mitsuki hummed, before aiming a hard look at Tamaki. “As long as you don’t hurt Iori, of course. Then I might just have to kill you.”

“‘Course,” He nodded, “though I can’t really take you all that seriously since you’re so small, Mikki.”

“Hey!—“

“Same goes for you, Iori-kun,” Sogo said, giving him a _ much _ scarier look than what his brother had given. “If you hurt him, I’ll hurt _ you. _”

“Ah, y-yes, Osaka-san.” 

“Be nice to Iorin-chan, Sou-chan,” Tamaki muttered with a pout, wrapping his arms around Iori protectively. “Don’t kill my first boyfriend.”

“Get a room, you two,” Yamato said under his breath, sending them a snide smirk. “Onii-san doesn’t wanna see you kids bein’ gross.”

“Let’s go then,” Tamaki shot up off the couch, grabbing Iori’s wrist and dragging him off to his room. 

“Yotsuba-san, no—“

“Don’t come into my room, we’ll be a while~.”

“_ Y-Yotsuba-san!—“ _

** _fin. _ **

**Author's Note:**

> they proceed to cuddle for 3 hours and Mitsuki goes to check on them only to find they fucking fell asleep before dinner and now will have to deal with them being up at 2 AM bc they're Humgry
> 
> Hope u enjoyed, and thanks to the Idol Hell server for helpin me out with this!! Please kudos and leave a comment if u enjoyed, I would rlly appreciate it~~
> 
> Reid out ( ◡‿◡ )♡


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